The Milwaukee Bucks led for a lot of the contest until the Rockets came alive in the final minutes
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 37 points were not enough to fend off the Houston Rockets, who outplayed the Milwaukee Bucks in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, ultimately topping them off 122-115 at the Fiserv Forum on Nov. 9.
With 4:49 to play, the Bucks held an eight-point lead following a dunk from Antetokounmpo, but were outscored by Houston 22-7 to close out regulation as Alperen Şengün and Kevin Durant lifted the Rockets to victory.
“[The Rockets] are a good team, but it was a game that I thought was very winnable for us,” Bucks Head Coach Doc Rivers said during the postgame press conference. “And it’s frustrating. We didn’t execute offensively at all, the ball stopped moving, and I thought defensively, we did things that we just can’t do.”
Milwaukee now falls to 6-4, losing two of its last three games to the Toronto Raptors and tonight, the Rockets.
What the Bucks can hang their hat on is the contributions they received from up and down their roster.
Along with Antetokounmpo, five other Milwaukee players scored in double figures. Ryan Rollins tallied 19 points, Myles Turner had 13, Cole Anthony had 12 and Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis each had 11. Gary Trent Jr. was nearly in double-figures with nine points.
Thus, it wasn’t their players putting up solid scoring numbers that was an issue for the Bucks. It was the late-game onslaught from the Rockets. Durant finished with 31 points, Şengün with 23 and Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard scored 16 apiece.
It was also the second half where the game changed for the Bucks, Rivers said.
“[The Rockets] were amazing on the offensive glass, and I thought we were in there for the fight,” Rivers said. “Even when we were big they were still getting them. But in the first half, I thought the difference in the game was we turned them over, so it was equal. In the second half, we turned it over and they kept getting offensive rebounds. And that made it a tough game to win.”
Despite losing the rebounding battle 50-27 (20-7 on the offensive glass), and accumulating turnovers in the second half, depth is clearly something the Bucks will be able to rely on moving forward, and it’s a positive sign that so many players were involved in such a high-scoring affair.
And Milwaukee was also without two of its regular contributors in Taurean Prince, who was out with a neck issue, and Kevin Porter Jr., who will not see the floor until next month following his meniscus surgery on Nov. 3.
The Bucks’ next two games are on the road as they take on the Dallas Mavericks (3-7) and Charlotte Hornets (3-6) on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.